As a technology, the new format works fine, more manageable, easier to navigate. But as a thing — and the physical properties of a print publication are more important in the digital age, not less so — The Observer has been trimmed in a way that makes it fit in all too well.
In the debut issue, they still have an obsession with the New York Times, and the front page piece on Hillary Rodham Clinton looked like one of those mid-level New Yorker pieces that you could take or leave. One thing that should go, however, is more bizarre and frightening artwork like Clinton's disembodied head on the cover.
The only thing both papers could agree on? The fact that the NYO has become just another tabloid.
Which makes the Times nostalgic and melancholy for the Observer of old, and the Post justifiably threatened by the Observer of new.
• Small bookstores being pushed out by big, corporate chains? Didn't we already see this when our girlfriend forced us to sit through
• Anna Wintour trades in tennis hottie Roger Federer for actor/singer Harry Connick Jr. as this season's Fashion Week arm-candy. Even the biggest Hope Floats fans concede, "it's a huge step down."
• NYO prepares for its big relaunch. It's coming very soon! Any day now! Could even be today! Nope? Perhaps tomorrow?
• Wal-Mart to sell movies, tv shows online. You know what they're still not selling? Walls. (Haha, remember? Paris Hilton from The Simple Life, season 1? Nobody?)
• Jeff Zucker, NBC, pissed at YouTube for letting "You" run wild. Oh, how far "You" have fallen since the days you were named Time's "Person of the Year."
• Another article pointing out the infallible New Yorker's myriad of sloppy mistakes.
Breaking news, everyone! Rumors are flying that New York Observer veteran Rebecca Dana has backed out of her commitment to the NYT in order to stay put at the tried and true offices of the Observer.
B&C reports:
Did Dana Ditch the Gray Lady to Stay In the Pink?
Last month, much buzz on the media beat centered on New York Observer TV scribe Rebecca Dana jumping to the New York Times. What started as a rumor on Radar.com turned into reality with this memo issued by the Times' Larry Ingrassia. Her start date was supposed to be this Monday (Jan. 29), but sources inside the paper say she's changed her mind and decided to stay at the Observer. Calls to Ingrassia and Dana have not been returned. Developing….
Where, oh where has our Rebecca Dana gone? Might she really have forsaken the New York Times in favor of Jared Kushner's pink, scented literary lovechild? (Perhaps!) Is it possible that she truly prefers Michael Calderone to Maureen Dowd? (Indeed!) Could it be that we are unhealthily obsessed with her every move? (Absolutely!)
Update: Gawker is reporting that Dana's offer at the Times was essentially revoked after she was overheard "jokingly" trash-talking Times' reporter Bill Carter. The new rumor is that Dana is renegotiating to keep her current gig at the NYO.
If anyone knows anything else, be sure to tip us off!
Earlier:
Oz. Pour: Rebecca Dana
Happy Birthday, Katie! The CBS news anchor turned 50 years old on Sunday, and has no intention of becoming any less perky as she settles into middle-age. And the busy newsie has even found time to run a bit of damage control.
In this week's NYO, there's a profile piece that celebrates Katie's devotion to her tried and true delivery and suggests that the media is partly to blame for her somewhat lackluster ratings. Early on in the article, Couric is even compared to the legendary Peter Jennings, for her intelligence and intuitive style.
Her boss, CBS News president Sean McManus, is quoted as defending her on a variety of issues, from her third-place in the ratings ("we’re exactly where we thought we were going to be, ratings-wise") to her practice of injecting personal responses into the broadcast ("I don’t think any of us wants to inhibit her honest, sincere reactions.”)
Couric subsequently shows her own zeal for the job, explaining, "if news is broccoli, then our job is to make it more appetizing to people, so more of them want to eat it.” She also resorts to a non-edible analogy to explain away her informal, personal touches:
I think that, probably it may be off-putting at times to some people who are used to a very, very buttoned-up newscast that doesn’t have much leeway for an occasional glimpse of personality, but you know, I try. I’ve always had the ‘less is more’ philosophy, believe it or not, but there are times when I think it’s personally fine. If people feel discomfort, maybe they should consider a suppository.
Consider a suppository, indeed. Something we've probably all wanted to say about our naysayers at one time or another. But the article certainly raises one question: would Peter Jennings ever have made such a statement?
While Byron "Barney" Calame, the New York Times' public editor, waits to hear whether his contract will be renewed this Spring, the Huffington Post and the New York Observer debate his qualifications as well as the underlying importance of his position.
As we told you last week, the NYO broke the news that Calame's job could be in jeopardy, and piped in with their vote, telling Calame—in no uncertain terms—to go back to Sesame Street:
Mr. Okrent [the Times' former public editor] was a sharp critic who raised hackles and then won respect during his 18-month term. In contrast, Mr. Calame has been a bit more like that other Barney, the friendly purple dinosaur—and not entirely unlike Snuffleupagus, the once-invisible creature of Sesame Street. The readers were Big Bird, and we could see and hear him—but did he exist to anyone inside The Times?
Now, Rachel Sklar of the Huffington Post is weighing in with her take, insisting that Calame's bad relationship with the Times' top editor and publisher is indicative of his objectivity:
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It's official: Rebecca Dana is leaving the Jared Kusher compound. The television industry scribe makes true those rumors about the New York Observer lass leaving for the New York Times' Business Day, where she'll reunite with former Washington Post colleague Michael Barbaro and fight David Carr for stories. Her exit leaves Kusher with just Michael Calderone and Spencer Morgan to continue dialoguing about the media bubble and its offshoots. Which is definitely a sign of progress, 'cause there really were too many women with regular bylines at the Observer.
We aren't the only ones who noticed David Carr's piece in the New York Times today seemed a little to close for comfort to what was basically the same exact article written by Michael Calderone in the New York Observer two weeks ago. But that's not going to stop us from reiterating.
From Carr's piece today:
Many reporters are now forced to conduct themselves like C.I.A. operatives, encoding files, shredding notes and switching cellphones. But technology also makes forensics on determining where leaks came from far easier.
From Calderone's piece :
“With this crazy environment, with subpoenas and so on, there is this feeling that you have to act like a drug dealer or a Mafioso,” Mr. Barstow said ….
Mr. Barstow said he suggests disposing of story drafts and cutting back on telephone and e-mail contact with sources—or using disposable cell phones for important calls. Reporters should be wary of meeting sources at their offices, Mr. Barstow said, so as to avoid sign-in sheets and security cameras.
Sure, Carr went the CIA route versus the drug dealer route – also a big surprise, considering he is the new king of drug lit – but more or less it's the same piece.
But that's not the only Carr news we received today. Check out Fishbowl, NY:
So what does Carr think about being one of the poster children for publishing's "Rehab Lit" movement? "I don't think about it," Carr said, adding that he liked Choire Sicha's recent piece in the New York Observer on the budding phenomenon.
In October, look for a Times piece by Carr, about himself, which will incorporate lines like, "Members of A.A. have been struggling with the significance of that second “A” for more than half a century."
An Obsession With Leaks and Plugs [David Carr, New York Times]
Times Studies How to Shake Feds: Disposable Phones, Erasable Notes: "Act Like a Drug Dealer" [Michael Calderone, New York Observer]
Rehab Lit: David Carr Sorting Through 30 Hours Of Video, 40 Hours Of Audio For Addiction Memoir [Fishbowl, NY]
Oh those New York Observer kids are always joshin'. They are so funny! Like, rotfl funny. So, get this.
Peter Kaplan was introducing the esteemed George Gurley to staffers, and brought him by to meet the new 25-year-old owner, Jared Kushner. (Well, not just to meet, but to renegotiate his contract. Minor detail which is not actually the point of the story. But it's interesting.) Anyways, so when Kaplan brought Gurley over, he didn't introduce him to Kushner … he introduced him to the intern! (Cue awkward grandpa-style knee slapping.)
Gurley admits he was nervous about how to handle his youthful new squire.
Except Kaplan was actually introducing him to the intern.
"It was a beautiful prank," Gurley admits. "But I'd still like to meet the real Jared."
Translation: Gurley's not fuckin' around. He wants his damn cash.
Publishing pranksters [Ben Widdicombe, Gatecrasher]
• Brandon Davis sings us a song of the firecrotch. Like we don't all know that one already. Psha. [Page Six]
• No, Jared Kushner does not want his staff to have crabs. No, he is not aware that 40% of them already do. [VV]
• Oh, and speaking of NYO, they're playing softball against New York mag somewhere in Inwood tonight — for all you "journoati stalkerati" out there. (If you can figure out where, it's totally worth it just for the very rare of late David Amsden sighting.)
• Our roommate two months ago: "Hey, have you guys heard of this thing called YouTube?" The news, today: "Hey, have you guys heard of this thing called YouTube?" [AP]
• If only posters could actually vote. And if only they could vote for gays. [FBNY]
Running photos of Little Joshie Kushner (the Harvard cutie who owns the Observer) gettin' slammered sure does inspire a lot of people to jump on the bandwagon. Like this tipster who wrote in, for example.
inspired by the pictures you ran earlier, i thought i'd throw in some more documentation of little joshie's drinking habits.
first pic- about to drink
second pic- wasted, in pile of trash, natch
third- iv drugs?
fourth- just plain looking sexy
Damn straight. Though, one thing we're confused about. He lugs around bottles of Taittenger, but shows off the Stoli? (Click above image to enlarge) We know he's in college, but come on. The kid's blue blood. At least spring for Grey Goose. For more scenes from the good life …
CONTINUED »
We were just going about our day, ho-hum, looking for gossip to spread and ways in which we could better destroy the world. And then, like a gift from our god, Satan, this arrived in our inbox.
Granted, it's no topless Jennifer Aniston or a Colin Farrell sex tap (which we couldn't be more grateful for. No. It's just a picture of one of Tom McGeveran's new bosses.
Remember Little Joshie Kushner? Yeah, he owns like 1/200 of the New York Observer now. We dig the dare shirt. And the fancy smansh bubbly. We're just trying to do the media community a favor. You should all get to know the people of the ruling class.
At least he'll fit in with the alcoholics at the paper, right? With Jared and all his water guzzling, somebody's gotta' keep the party going. After the jump, Joshie hangs out with friends and sits on the couch looking kind of stoned, and keeps our blog filled with random stuff for you to look at.
CONTINUED »
Want to be paid more than any of those "journalists" at the New York Observer? Why not take a job as Jared Kushner's assistant? Come on, haven't you always wanted a 25-year-old boss to schedule lunches and pick up dry-cleaning for?
Look, the paper is really hip, the people who work there are really smart, it's in Flatiron, and you can have a crush on your boss and not feel like a twinkie.
Job Requirements Want to be a player in the advertising field at Manhattan's hippest and smartest newspaper? The New York Observer has an exciting full-time entry level position reporting directly to our publisher and blah, blah, blah.
As an administrative assistant, you must blah, blah, blah … have a nice ass … blah, blah, blah … go on beer runs. This is a very exciting time for us and a great opportunity to join our weekly newspaper located in the Flatiron District.
Did you hear that? Have you ever been so excited to put on your tight gray skirt and hone your pen ordering skills? These are some very exciting times.
Administrative Assistant [Mediabistro]
Earlier: Adam Moss Needs a New Assistant
The Philadelphia Daily News delves into the philosophical question which plagues our consciousness every day. "Why the fuck," they ask "would anyone in the world want to buy the Philadelphia 76ers?" They give a few reasons, mostly sticking with the notion that taking a basketball team back to its glory days is the greatest thing imaginable. And since our NYU attending New York Observer owning media mogul Jared Kushner is buying everything in sight, the News thinks he might be the one to snap up the down-trodden team.
"The short story is, [it would have to be] somebody with a lot of money that's not looking for any quick return on their investment and can handle negative cash flow," Shropshire said.
A source indicated that the family, led by Jared Kushner - who recently purchased the New York Observer for $10 million - was interested enough to have been given a tour of the Wachovia Center.
The plan, a source indicated, was for the family to be the buyer, rather than the Kushner Companies, a multibillion dollar real-estate enterprise. Jared Kushner, asked twice via e-mail about his interest by the Daily News, declined comment.
Hey, we also hear that Kushner's thinking of buying the Hell's Kitchen flea market. And possibly Millennium Park in Chicago. And an apple from down the street.
Words to whys of owning Sixers [Philadephia Daily News]
Who would have thunk that talking about the New York Observer for three fucking days straight would inspire our readers to point something out about the New York Observer we hadn't already mentioned? And because there are apparently people on this Earth who read both blogs and the paper version of a newspaper, they notice such Earth-shattering things as this:
The Observer is back to two sections! Hooray!
(Remember when they were cut to one section and everyone thought they were totally screwed?) We don't actually have a paper copy (they don't even sell the Observer in our 'hood) but we trust it's true. That Jared Kushner's got some cash. Or so we hear.
We can't think of a celebration activity worthy enough of this incredible, tree-demolishing event. Perhaps opening a mini bottle of champagne and picturing us blogging in our underwear would suffice. Now, please people, we love the NYO, but we need to gossip about something else for a while. Perhaps one of the interns at Conde earns her rent money at Scores? Send us your dirt. Seriously. We beg of you.
Having just became the latest Jew family to own a New York newspaper, the next step in media bubble entree is showing your face around town. And that's what the new New York Observer owner is doing. Jared Kusher suddenly became the main event at last night's premiere of Factotum – well, Details coverboy Matt Dillon was there too – so we grabbed photog Matthew Krautheim and stalked Kush from red carpet to after party.
After two hours of watching Dillon drink himself half to death, the media posse (which included AMI chief David Pecker) were inspired to open a bottle of scotch and drink till the booze was gone — which may explain why Lloyd Grove went home to get drunk in peace, while the rest of us flocked across town to the after party at BLVD.
It was only a 19 hour wait for the free booze before we could bathe ourselves in copies of last week's Observer. Fishbowler Dylan Stableford stopped by but lost interest once he realized there were no drunken gossips to videotape. Once inside, we realized our encounters with Marisa Tomei and Matt Dillon were destined to be limited to snapping paparazzi-like photos — though we did manage to back Kushner in a corner.
He asked us what blogging was like ("Do you sit on your couch in your underwear? No, I'm not trying to picture it or anything.") and we asked him if his real estate ties were going to impact the Observer's gossipy coverage of his fellow moguls ("I'm not going to have much of a hand in the editorial aspects of the paper."). We would've delved further, but he had to duck out. (Something about a new job and needing to get some sleep … we couldn't really follow.)
Alas, like good writers, celebs, and New Yorkers, everyone was hammered by midnight — surely depressed over the reminder that scribes' lives are pathetic and a 25-year-old can buy and sell them for fun. Ah, well, like we said, the booze was free.
Our photo tale begins, after the jump.
CONTINUED »
What, you thought just because Michael Calderone left the Manhattan Transfers column at the New York Observer we were going to stop reading it? We frickin' love real estate! We dream about owning the roof we sleep under (hopefully it won't be the same yellowed, cracking on we're sleeping under now), we salivate over the apartment swappings of New York Celebs, and have a dire obsession with scanning the boldface names for a Tina Brown or Graydon Carter mention.
So our digits started tingling when we glanced the byline of today's Transfers column (and honestly, folks, we figured this one out on our own with no help from anyone at the New York Observer) and noticed a single, solitary name where 2-3 used to be. It seems like Max Abelson may be NYO's new real estate reporter.
And why should you care about this unconfirmed but probably true information? A few reasons.
1) The former intern is taking a spot once held by Gabe Sherman and Calderone, who both went on to cover the media beat after they put in their time digging up city records. (As in, this may be your future Observer media reporter.) 2) His new boss, Jared Kushner, is a well-known real estate mogul, so one might expect the column to gain more status. 3) It is an extremely slow media gossip day and we just told you something you may or may not have figured out on your own.
Not to mention everyone loves a good intern-gets-hired-for-four-bucks-an-hour story.
Greta’s Grabbo [Max Ablseson, Manhattan Transfers]
We know Noelle Hancock from her media gossip days at the New York Observer and party crasher extraordinaire for Gawker. You may know her for other reasons — blinding blonde locks, legs up to her neck, and her "decent-sized rack." (And she doesn't even work at Conde Nast!) Ok, let's just put it this way: she doesn't look like anyone's butt.
Noelle is now leading the tabloid blog revolution as the top editor of Us Weekly's blog, and cashing plenty Jann Wenner's checks by contributing to Rolling Stone as well.
We're not sure if we'd call Noelle up-and-coming … since she's pretty much up there in terms of media creds (she's got Cosmopolitan, the New York Post, and Blacktable under her belt, as well) but she's still fresh enough out of Yale to be more impressive than passe.
After the jump, learn how to live vicariously through her for a day by reading Amazon, eating cereal, and dreaming of living in France with a gay boyfriend. (Though her real-life beau actually is straight.) We hope it was worth waiting 'til Tuesday for.
CONTINUED »
I Want Media's Patrick Phillips is the next media man to interview press happy 25-year-old New York Observer owner Jared Kushner. In this lovely Q+A Kushner admits to having great respect for blogs (yes, even Jossip), he reads the paper he owns, and (surely to Keith Kelly's delight) he doesn't plan to change the color of the Observer.
Also, he doesn't have a MySpace page.
IWM: Do you have a profile page on Facebook, Friendster, MySpace or any other social networking site?
Kushner: No. I never got into that craze. I keep up with my friends the old-fashioned way, by using the telephone or meeting in person. I know — foreign concepts in today's society.
And, on a sad note, his brother and Observer co-owner Little Joshie Kushner no longer has one, either.
Jared Kushner: My Generation Has 'Shorter Attention Spans, Greater Expectations' About News [Patrick Phillips, I Want Media]
Today asks New York magazine:
And, after much research, we learned:
What Makes Jared Run? [Geoffrey Gray, NYM]
Fridays are always so fun! We asked for a photo of Joshua "Little Joshie" Kushner New York Observer owner Jared Kushner's little brother, partial Observer owner, Harvard student and executive editor of Scene magazine) and you delivered. And not just a photo, either, but a link to his strange online networking/dating/pillow fighting profile.
Um, we're gonna' have to say dang. Boy is pretty hot — especially for a Harvard kid. We definitely think his role in owning a piece of the family business should be going to parties and, uh, handling the press.
Joshua Kushner [XuQa]
Earlier: Little Joshie Kushner Has Media Experience, Goes to Harvard
Earlier: And Observer Staffers Thought it Was Bad When a 25-Year-Old Owned Their Asses
Editorial Director
